Fertility Treatment in Ireland
10th Jun 15 | FamilyRecognised for his pioneering work in embryology and IVF, Professor Simon Fishel is one of the co-founders of the world's first IVF clinic and considered to be one of most eminent specialists in the field of fertility treatments.
Professor Fishel joined Mark and Sinead in the Ireland AM studio this morning to discuss the fertility treatments available in Ireland and to answer some questions from our viewers.
Question one from anonymous in Dublin.
I have been off my contraceptive pill for seven months now and I still haven't conceived yet. When would be the most fertile time to try for a baby? I'm thirty-three years old and have two others kids aged fourteen and five. How long should I leave it for until I seek medical advice?
Professor Fishel started his answer to this question by saying that this “could be what we call secondary infertility. It’s a very, very big problem. People think that they are fertile because they have their first or second child and then problems set in.”
On the question of age Professor Fishel said to “give it another year". He also focussed on our viewers use of the word “I” and said that “presumably she has a partner. Both of them need to be checked out” and then pointed out that infertility is a couples problem and that there was around a fifty percent chance that this was a male issue.
Question two from anonymous in Cork.
I've recently started seeing a guy and he mentioned that he is unable to have children due to low motility? Should I be concerned? And are there options around that for the future? Is it costly?
Professor Fishel, Sinead and Mark commended the man for his honesty in telling his new partner about his situation and Professor Fishel went on to say that there are options when it comes to low motility.
He explained the condition, saying that “sperm can move very, very quickly or it can move very, very sluggishly. If it’s sluggish, it can’t penetrate the outer shell of an egg and get inside to do the fertilisation".
When it comes to options Professor Fishel said that “we have given hundreds or thousands of couples a child where motility has been almost negligible”. He described the treatment by saying that “we have got very, very tiny, microscopic instruments that can pick up the sperm and put it inside the egg and bring about fertilisation”.
You can watch the full interview with Professor Simon Fishel in the video below. You can also visit beaconcarefertility.ie or phone 01 2932955 for more information on the Beacon CARE facility.
